Self care for busy times

[C1239]

In the middle of an extremely hectic time at work at the moment, can feel the stress creeping in!
What extra self care do you do to keep sane in busy times and how do you keep juggling everything - work, family, friends etc?

If you’re going through a busy time at work the first thing to do is accept it and maybe lower your standards elsewhere e.g. a slightly dirtier house, 2 workouts a week instead of 3 etc.

BUT try to schedule time to do whatever you enjoy - a walk, reading a book, setting aside some time to meditate or listen to a podcast. Literally schedule them into your day and try not to let anything get in the way of them. For example, I always feel awful if I don’t get outside, so a minimum 20-minute walk is a non-negotiable everyday for me.

I saw something recently that said ‘work-life balance doesn’t often exist’ which I sort of agree with! Usually one will outweigh the other, and that’s ok as long as it’s not always work taking over your life!

I do the following:

• keep nice hand cream on my desk along with a calming candle
• hydrate with water and peppermint tea
• listen to something funny on R4 or Podcast while I cook dinner
• build Lego creations with my dc2
• walk In my local park for 20mins
• get up at 5am so I have some kid-free time before the madness of work and family life starts
• batch cook in winter and eat salad in Summer - avoiding heavily processed junk where I can

it doesn’t work very well tho - I’m too old to cope with work days that start at 8 and finish at 1.30am punctuated by housework, cooking and caring for the kids

What time do you go to sleep to get up at 5? I usually get up around 7 but would like to be earlier.

Definitely cut corners where you can- or outsource (eg. Cleaner/dog walker/ironing service)

Nice shower gel for a quick few minutes of nice " me time" in the morning

Don't skip exercise - even a ten minute walk.

I lived in a manic whirlwind for years as a single mum climbing the career ladder. Those three things kept me going!

And how do you not let yourself get super stressed out by work? How do you keep reminding yourself it is just a job?!